Will The Norfolk Hockey Team Get New Lease On Ice?

Warner Hessler

May 22, 2000|By WARNER HESSLER Daily Press

So, what do you think? Are we going to have hockey this season? Are Hampton Roads Admirals owners Mark Garcea and Page Johnson serious when they say they will ice an American Hockey League team in October? Is the City of Norfolk going to find a way around the only lease in existence and kick them out of Scope? Have we finally reached the point where the fans are ready to tell everybody connected with this long-running soap opera to take a hike? Let's go to the phones:

Q: What's wrong with the Admirals?

A: On the ice, nothing. For 11 years, the Admirals were a symbol of excellence. On the ice, that is. Off the ice, they had the misfortune of being associated with owners and politicians who made Hampton Roads the laughingstock of the East Coast Hockey League.

Q: First we hear the Admirals are going to the AHL. Then we hear they are staying in the ECHL for another season. Then we hear there won't be hockey at Scope this season. Then, three days ago, we hear they are going to play in the AHL. What is going on, and how much longer will the fans be jerked around?

A: I can't tell you how much longer the fans will be jerked around, but I can tell you that the Norfolk City Council will meet Tuesday night to discuss the latest turn of events. After being unable to renegotiate a more favorable lease, Garcea and Johnson say they will enter the AHL this season under terms of a lease signed two years ago. It's a legal document, the only piece of paper that contains the signatures of both sides, so I assume that if the owners say they are willing to honor the worst lease in all of minor league hockey, the city has no choice but to honor it.

Q: Where did this lease come from, and why haven't we heard about it?

A: Two weeks ago to the day, I wrote that the only hope of having hockey this season was for the owners to play under terms of this lease. It allows the Admirals to play one season in the ECHL, which they did in 1999-2000, and two seasons in the AHL

Q: If the Admirals are going to play under terms of this terrible lease, do they have to loan the city $650,000 to improve the hockey facilities and rename the team Norfolk?

A: No. There are no provisions for the loan or the name change. The city demanded that Garcea and Johnson move up to the pricier AHL, so the city should be obligated to make the improvements and bring the public facility up to AHL standards. As for the name, it should remain Hampton Roads Admirals.

Q: Do you think Garcea and Johnson are serious about playing this coming season, or do you think they are setting up a lawsuit because they think the city will find a way to prevent them from playing?

A: I don't know what to think anymore. I do know the city is seriously looking into ways to nullify the lease because they just don't want to do business with Garcea and Johnson anymore.

Q: What's your personal take on this?

A: Being that I like the sport of hockey and would like to see it thrive here, I would get new owners, elect a new mayor, and stay in the ECHL, where we have rivalries and where the majority of fans I have talk to say they want to be. Everybody involved has brutalized this sport. It's time to keep the fans and open up a new can of owners and politicians.

Warner Hessler can be reached at 247-4648 or by e-mail at whessler@dailypress.com